April 13, 2023 | FRA, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Trains Magazine, April 11, 2023) Rail labor leaders welcomed the safety advisory that the Federal Railroad Administration issued last week that encourages railroads to take steps to reduce the in-train forces that can cause long trains to derail. Full story:...
April 13, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: National Public Radio, April 10, 2023) A ProPublica report on a railroad cost-cutting approach called Precision Scheduled Railroading (PSR) concludes that a strategy that employs longer trains with fewer employees puts profits ahead of safety in the freight...
April 13, 2023 | East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Railroad Safety, Technology
(Source: Ideastream Public Media, April 13, 2023) The February train derailment in East Palestine has raised questions about the safety of freight rail companies. Now, the U.S. Congress is considering two pieces of legislation that would address the use of wayside...
April 11, 2023 | Headlines, Paid Sick Leave, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Editorial in the Seattle Times, April 9, 2023) State and federal governments recently have focused on ways to make the nation’s railways safer after a series of derailments, from East Palestine, Ohio, to Swinomish, left communities concerned about their own...
April 11, 2023 | Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety, Whistleblower
(Source: Vice, April 10, 2023) Since 2013, there have been 2,054 whistleblower complaints filed with OSHA by freight rail workers against the seven biggest railroads in the country, known as Class I railroads, according to documents obtained by Motherboard via a...
April 10, 2023 | 2-man Crews, East Palestine-NS, Headlines, Legislation, Railroad Safety
(Source: Buffalo News, April 8, 2023) New bipartisan legislation aimed at improving rail safety is on track to pass in the U.S. Senate, Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer said during a news conference Friday as he stood along the Norfolk Southern rail line in Attica....
April 10, 2023 | Derailment, East Palestine-NS, FRA, Headlines, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Associated Press, April 7, 2023) “Think about going thru undulating territory sort of like a Slinky. You’re either trying to keep it stretched out or you’re trying to keep it all bunched together to control the forces from going in and out because that’s what...
April 10, 2023 | 2-man Crews, Headlines, Legislation, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Freight Waves, April 6, 2023) Two popular issues among rail unions — train lengths and train crew sizes — have gained traction in state legislatures, with a bill in the Nevada legislature limiting train lengths and a provision requiring train crew sizes of at...
April 6, 2023 | Headlines, Legislation, PSR, Railroad Safety
(Source: Nevada Independent, April 5, 2023) Sponsored by the Assembly Committee on Growth and Infrastructure, AB456 would look to cut down on the size of trains that can often reach or exceed 3 miles long and weigh more than 60 million pounds — “monster trains” that...
April 6, 2023 | 2-man Crews, East Palestine-NS, News, Railroad Safety
INDEPENDENCE, Ohio, April 6 — Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed the state’s $13.5 billion transportation budget into law on Friday, March 31. The bill includes a mandate for two-person train crews and other important rail safety measures in response to Norfolk...
